SB 436 
.C4 
Copy 1 




CITY OF CHICAGO 
SPECIAL PARK COMMISSION 



THE MOVEMENT FOR TREE PLANTING 
IN THE STREETS OF THE CITY 



The City Ordinance Relating to 
the Planting, Preservation and 
Promotion of Trees and Shrub- 
bery in the Streets and Func- 
tions of the City Forester, 



mm 



Address Communications to 

J. H. PROST, City Forester, lOth Floor City Hall 

Telephones Main 447, Local 25 



TllE TREE PLANTING AIOVE^fENT AND FUNC- 
TIONS OF THE CITY FORESTER. • 



The Street Tree Ordinance gives control of trees in the 
streets to the Special Park Commission, authorizes it to 
appoint a City Forester, who is to direct, assist and advise 
j)ersons wishing to plant trees, and to have general charge 
of the care of trees in the streets. 

Owing to the small appropriation placed at the disposal 
of the Forester by the City Council the work, for the 
present, must be confined to the supervision and direction 
of private effort, to the protection of existing trees by 
proper use of the permit issuing powers vested in the For- 
ester, to the trimming of trees in need of attention, to the 
removal of dead trees, either by city employes or b}- inter- 
ested citizens and improvement associations, to the encour- 
agement of city-wide tree planting and preservation by 
means of illustrated talks and distribution of pamphlets in- 
forming the public on the subject of trees — what, when 
and how to plant them, and to the collection of information 
regarding trees existing in the city. 

The commission believes that this branch of its work 
can be made very valuable in improving the appearance and 
increasing the attractiveness of the residence districts. To 
that end it asks the hearty co-operation of all public-spirited 
citizens. 

The commission will furnish expert advice at any time 
to citizens planning the planting street trees, or shrub- 
bery, and will be glad to receive information enabling it to 
prevent threatened violations of the ordinance, whether the 
violations relate to the carrying on of building operations 
without properly guarding the street trees, or the continued 
existence of gas leaks where trees are liable to be affected. 

If a neighborhood or street improvement association de- 
sires advice on a plan for street planting the Commission 
will arrange to have the City Forester, or some other rep- 
resentative of the commission, consult with those having 
the matter in charge, or if practicable, address any meeting 
of property owners. 

The Forester can be reached at the office of the com- 
mission, loth Floor. City Hall, ■ 

. • p. •t P. 

•••'IDEC 23 If 18 



THE PLAXTIXG, PRESERVATION, CONTROL AND 

CULTURE OF TREES AND SH-RUBBERY 

IN THE PUBLIC STREETS. 



Followinij is the ordinance passed 1j\ tlie City Council 
March 22, 1909 : 

Be If ordained by the City Coinicil of flic City of C/nVa^i^o ; 

Section i. The Special Park Commission shall have full 
power and authority over all trees, plants and shrubs planted 
and to l>e planted in the streets and public highways of the 
City of Chicago, including the right to plant new trees and 
to care for the same, and to that end the said commission is 
authorized to a])point according to law a person to be known 
as City P"orester, who shall be a man skilled and learned in 
the science of forestry, and whose duty it shall be, under the 
control and direction of the Special Park Commission, to 
superintend, regulate, and encourage the preservation, cul- 
ture and planting of shade and ornamental trees, plants and 
shrubbery in the streets and public highways of the City of 
Chicago; to prune, spray, cultivate and otherwise maintain 
such trees, plants and shrubbery, and to direct the time 
and method of trimming the same ; to advise, without charge, 
owners and occupants of lots regarding the kind of trees, 
plants and shrubbery and the method of planting best adapt- 
ed to, or most desirable on particular streets,^ and to take 
such measures as ma\- be deemed necessary for the control 
and extermination of insects and other ]iests and plant 
iliseases which may injuriously afifect trees, plants or shrubs 
that are now growing or may be hereafter growing on the 
streets or public highways o£ the City of Chicago. He 
shall report to the Corporation Counsel of the City of Chi- 
cago all cases which may come to his knowledge of viola- 
tions of ordinances respecting such trees, plants and shrub- 
bery. 

Section 2. The Citv Forester shall, subject to such rules 
and regulations as the Special Park Commission may pre- 
scribe, keep a record of all transactions of his office and 
shall, whenever the Special Park Commission may require, 
make a full and detailed report of such transactions. 

Section 3. The word "trees" as used in this ordinance 
shall not be construed to include shrubs which do not grow 
higher than fifteen feet, and the word "person" whenever 
used in this ordinance shall be construed to include in- 
dividuals, firms and corporations. 



Section 4. The salary of the City Forester shall be at 
the rate of two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) per annum, 
payable in equal monthly installments, in full for his serv- 
ices. He shall give a bond in the sum of five thousand 
dollars ($5,000.00) for the faithful performance of his 
duties, with not less than two good and sufficient sureties 
owning" unencumbered real estate in the City of Chicago, or 
any responsible surety compan\-. which bond shall be ap- 
proved by the Mayor. 

Section 5. The owner or owners of every lot or parcel 
of land in the City of Chicago upon which any tree or trees 
are now or may hereafter be standing shall trim or cause 
to be trimmed the branches thereof so that the same shall 
not obstruct the passage of light from any gas 'lamp or 
other light located in any street, alley or public highwav in 
the City of Chicago to the adjacent street and sidewalk ; and 
such owner or owners shall trim all. branches of anv tree or 
trees now or hereafter growing on their premises which 
overhang any street, alley or public highway, so that there 
shall be a clear height of ten feet above the surface of the 
street, alley or highway unobstructed by branches, and such 
owner or owners shall remove from such tree or trees all 
dead, decayed or broken limbs or branches that overhang- 
such street, alley or highway, and when any of such trees 
are dead such owner or owners shall, remove the same so 
that they shall not fall in the street, alley or public high- 
way. Any person who shall fail to comply with any of 
the provisions of this section within fifteen days after notice 
from the City Forester of the particular thing to be done 
under this section shall be subject to ]:)ayment of the fine 
designated in Section 18 hereof. 

Section 6. No tree shall be planted in any street or 
public highway of the Citv of Chicago at a distance of less 
than twenty-five feet from any other trees standing in the 
same street, except by written permit of the Citv Forester, 
or at a distance of less than two feet from the established 
sidewalk line of said street. 

Section 7. No shade or ornamental tree, plant or shrub 
shall be planted in any of the streets or public highw^avs of 
the City of Chicago until the City Forester shall have first 
approved the kind and variety thereof and designated the 
location therefor and granted a permit for planting the 
same. 

Section 8. No person shall, without the written per- 
mission of the City Forester, remove, destroy, break, cut, 



deface, trim or in any way injure or interfere with any tree, 
plant or sliriib that is now or may hereafter be growing in 
any street or pubHc highway of the City of Chicago ; pro- 
vided, however, that nothing in this section shall be con- 
strued to apply to the removal, under the direction of the 
Board of Local Improvements, of any root, tree, shrub, or 
part thereof, wherever the same shall be found necessary in 
the construction of any 'sidewalk, sewer, pavement or other 
public improvement. 

Section 9. No i)erson shall hitch or fasten any horse or 
other animal to any tree or shrub, or to any device intended 
to protect any tree or shrub, now or hereafter growing in 
any street or public highway of the City of Chicago, "nor 
shall any person cause or permit any horse or other animal 
to stand or be near enough to any tree, plant or shrub to 
bite or rub against, or in an\- manner injure or deface the 
same ; nor shall any person place a post for the hitching of 
horses within five feet of any tree, plant or shrub no\v or 
hereafter growing in anv of the streets or public highways 
of the City of Chicago, nor shall any person attach or place 
any rope, wire, sign, poster, hand bill or other thing on 
any tree or shrub now or hereait'er growing in any street 
or public highway of the Cit}- of Chicago, or on any guard 
or protection of the same ; nor shall any person deposit or 
throw upon any street, alley or ])ublic highway, or into an\- 
gutter thereof, any sail or salt water, or deposit in sucli 
gutter an}- receptacle containing salt or salt water. 

Section 10, Xo person shall remove, injure or misuse 
any guard or device placed or intended to protect any tree, 
plant or shrub now or hereafter growing in anv street or 
public highway of the City of Chicago. 

Section it. No person, firm or corporation owning, 
maintaining or operating any gas pipes or mains laid be- 
neath the surface of any street, alley or public place in the 
City of Chicago shall permit any leak to occur in such pipes 
or mains within a radius of forty feet of any tree now or 
hereafter growing in any street or public place in said City, 
and in the event that a leak exists or occurs in any such pipe 
or main, it shall be the duty of the person, firm or corpora- 
tion owning or operating such defective pipe or main to re- 
pair the same immediately and stop such leak in a manner 
so as to prevent a recurrence of the same after receiving a 
notice in writing from the City Forester calling the atten- 
tion of such person, firm or corporation to the fact that such 
leak exists or has occurred and if such person, firm or cor- 



poration fails within five da}s after the receipt of such notice 
to stop such leak in a manner so as to prevent a recurrence 
thereof, such person, firm or corporation shall l>e subject 
to the payment of a fine of not less than five nor more than 
one hundred dollars, and a separate ofifense shall be re- 
garded as committed after each day during which such per- 
son, firm or corporation shall continue such -violation. 

Section 12. No person shall hereafter without the 
written permit of the City Forester, place or maintain upon 
the ground in any street or public highway in the City of 
Chicago, stone, cement or other material which shall im- 
pede the free passage of water and air to the roots of an\ 
tree now or hereafter growing in such street or public high- 
wa^ without leaving an open space of ground not less than 
two feet in width all around the trunk of such tree; and 
wherever there is no such open space about any existing 
tree in any street or public highway in the City of Chicago, 
the Cit}- Forester may make such open space or cause the 
same to be made; provided, however, that in making such 
open space the same shall not require the breaking or de- 
stroving of any part of an}- sidewalk or pavement already 
constructed ; -provided, further that nothing herein contained 
shall be construed as requiring the City of Chicago in the 
construction of sidewalks to leave any open space around 
the trunk of any tree where such tree is planted or grows 
within the lines now or hereafter established as sidewalk 
lines, but provided, further that in the event that any such 
tree grows within a distance of less than one foot from the 
inner or outer established sidewalk line, then, and in that 
event the said sidewalk ma}- be so constructed as to leave 
an open space of one foot in width arovmd the trunk of such 
tree. 

Section 13. In the erection, alteration or repair of any 
building or structure the owner or owners thereof shall place 
or cause to be placed such guards around all nearby trees 
in the street or ])ublic highway as shall efifectually prevent 
injury to them. 

Section 14. Xo person or corporation shall, without the 
written permit of the City Forester, attach any electric 
wire, insulator or any other device for holding electric wire 
to anv tree now or hereafter growing in any street or pub- 
lic highway in the City of Chicago. 

Section 15. Every person or corporation having any 
wire or wires charged with electricity shall whenever pr-ac- 
ticable securelv fasten the same so that such wire or wires 



shall not come in contact with any tree in anv street or 
public highway in the City of Chicago. 

Section i6. No person or corporation shall prevent, 
delay or interfere with the City Forester or his assistants 
in the planting, pruning, cultivating, spraying or removal of 
an\' tree, plant or shrub that is now or ma^• hereafter l)e 
growing in anv street or public highway of tlie City of Chi- 
cago, or in the removal of stone, cement or other material 
about the trunk of any tree that is now growing or may 
hereafter be growing in any street or public highwav of the 
City of Chicago. 

Sfxtion 17. Every permit granted by the City Forester 
shall specifically describe the work to be' done under it and 
shall expire at the end of not exceeding 60 days from its 
date. No charge shall be made for anv permit. 

^ Section 18. Any person who' violates any of the pro 
visions of this ordinance shall be punished by a fine of not 
less than $5.00 nor more than $100.00 for each offense. 

Section 19. It shall l)e the duty of the City Forester 
to see that the provisions of this ordinance are obeyed and 
prosecutions for all violations of this ordinance shall be 
instituted by the City Forester and shall be prosecuted in 
the name of the City of Chicago. 

Section 20. Sections 1432 and 1433 of the Revised 
Municipal Code of Chicago of 1905 and all other ordinances 
and parts of ordinances inconsistent herewith are hereby 
repealed. 

Section 21. This ordinance shall take effect and be in 
force from and after its passage. 

By order of the Special Park Commission. 

« 
J. P. Dunne, A. W. Beilfuss, 

Ading Secretary. Chainnaii. 



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